WRITER Talks To DNA. DNA Talks Back.

COMPUTER: Why do you need a new name? Just call it blog like you call me computer.

WRITER: Maybe I need to correct that. You need a name. How about Spot?

COMPUTER: No

WRITER: Humm. How about Mac?

COMPUTER: Taken. Can’t you be more creative? Jeez, you are The Writer. 

WRITER: How about PITA?  

COMPUTER:  Pita- a soft, slightly leavened flatbread. Nope. Not me. 

WRITER: Not the PITA, I had in mind.

COMPUTER: I am looking at you puzzled in case you didn’t notice. Searching PITA in the Urban Dictionary. Ay, yes.PITA— Pain In The Ass. Here is my PIYA!

WRITER:  No. No. No. Wait! Not the wheel of doom. Please. I’ll do better. Promise. How about DNA? But not DNA as in what we’re made up of…well, I guess it could be…DNA like in the Outer Limits’ opening narration.

COMPUTER: Searching. Like in: There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. (Computer imitates Control Voice.)

WRITER: Exactly! DNA as in Do Not Attempt. 

COMPUTER: Hum. Hum. Now, you’re thinking. I like that. DNA that’s me. 

WRITER: Okay. Good. Glad that’s settled. So DNA, got any great ideas for a blog name.

DNA: Sure do. Use something from the Outer Limits. When I searched the web, I found out that the final episode of the original Outer Limits was titled The Probe.

WRITER: I don’t know. This is a science fiction blog. I think I need to use science fiction in the name. 

DNA: The Probe. Short. Catchy. Easy to remember. Just use science fiction a lot in the copy of your blog. 

WRITER: The Probe—investigating the unknown. It’s broad. Would encompass science fiction, paranormal, science, writing, monsters, aliens, things that go-bump-in-the-night…could work. 

DNA: Sure it works. DNA thought it up. It’s gotta be good. You could even have a section called Probe-filing. Where you file, I don’t know, relevant stuff pertaining to your blog topic. 

WRITER: Is Probe-filing like profiling?

DNA: Profiling– the recording and analysis of a person’s psychological and behavioral characteristics, so as to assess or predict their capabilities in a certain sphere or to assist in identifying a particular subgroup of people. Probe-filing– Clara’s blog that records and analyzes the weird world of strange, so as to assess, maybe predict, if certain phenomena exist in the realm of possibilities. Findings are stored in a blog file for the purpose of entertainment, information, and research for others to share. 

WRITER: So is my blog called The Probe or Probe-filing?

DNA: For simplicity use The Probe. 

WRITER: Thanks, DNA. You’ve been a great help. Want some moldy cheese?

DNA: No thanks. I had part of your brain for lunch.

WRITER: Was I good?

DNA: You need to exercise. Go read a book for the rest of the afternoon. 

Those of you familiar with the OLs know they began each episode with an attention-grabbing narration. The opening narration for The Probe went like this:

A few days, a week, a month… Will the Earth be visited by a stranger from the universe? A warm, compassionate stranger, to tell us of wonders beyond imagination, of life beyond comprehension, of secrets from the treasure house of stars?

Both narrations require further probing. Will do so in future probes. What do you think?

• Top—Warrior: Creative Commons at Pixabay
• 2 Robots on Flickr by Adam Koford
• Outer Limits Clip from The Probe, last episode.

Besides changing the name and adding Probe-filing to Clara’s Blog, I will add a section called: The Short Of It and The Long Of It, in an effort to aid hurried readers and facilitate the invested readers.

Example.

All the top stuff. 

So what do you think about the name change? How about my computer’s name? Are you out there?

If so, I love hearing from you. 

Is the font size too small in my blog? Are my blogs too long? Are you there? Do we exist? Or are we holograms? Or existing in a computer virus? Or under a microscope.

DNA: Just answer her already so she will let me sleep.

WRITER: From this point forward, Clara’s Blog is The Probe.